“Here’s the story, of a man named Brady…”

I recently wrote a piece on the 1970’s making a comeback, and all my friends have referred to it as “the Brady Bunch column.” Funny, I only mentioned them twice!

This made me think: why do we have such a fixation about the Brady Bunch?

I know I’ve seen every episode at least three times. Yes, even the ones with weird little Oliver. (Whose kid was he, anyway?)

It’s not like the Bunch was the only rerun on t.v. I got my share of Scooby Doo, the Monkees and Banana Splits (One Banana, Two Banana, Three Banana Four…) in the afternoons after school. But the Brady Bunch was special, for some kooky reason.

Maybe it’s because they were all close to our age as we were growing up, at least in Rerunland. And the storylines were pretty simplistic.

Frogs in Greg’s pizza, Jan ruining the family picture and Tiger running away from home were not the most difficult concepts to grasp. Every episode had a neat little ending and moral to the story, patiently dictated to a bug-eyed Brady kid by the ever-so-wise Mike and Carol.

For whatever reason, the Bunch is still popular with college-age students. I know people who still watch it every day up here.

So for all you Brady Buffs out there, the following trivia quiz ought to get your minds off cost accounting and research papers.

THE BRADY QUIZ

1. Who was Bobby kissing when he saw fireworks? (1st name)

2. When the Bradys were saving greenstamps, the boys and girls argued about what prize they would buy. What did the girls want?

3.Mike, the architect, had a client in cosmetics. What did she want the building to look like?

4.T/F. Greg turned Papa Brady’s den into a Hippie Bachelor Pad, complete with lava lamp and love beads.

5.On the Brady camping trip, the boys failed to catch fish for dinner. What lifesaving meal did Carol come up with?

6.What was the name of the rock band the kids formed and why?

7.When Greg went to work for Sam, what catastrophe almost ended his life?

8.What did Bobby and Cindy eat beans out of when they were lost in the Grand Canyon?

9.What was Peter’s favorite dinner?

10.Who was Marcia referring to when she sighed, “I’ll never wash that cheek again!”

11.What western folk hero did Bobby idolize, much to the dismay of Mike and Carol?

12.What famous baseball player lost his wallet and came to the Brady’s to claim it?

13.T/F Alice never quit the Brady household to work in a sleazy diner.

14.What scrumptious dinner did Alice tempt Bobby and Cindy with when they were teeter-tottering for the World’s Record?

15.What was the name of the “groovy chick” Marcia helped turn from an ugly ducking to most sought-after girl?

Good luck! If you can come up with any tougher ones, let me know. This thing could go on forever!

Turn the page for answers.